Author Archives: F. E. Guerra-Pujol
Hans Niemann versus Magnus Carlsen
Chess prodigy Hans Niemann (pictured below, right) has just sued grandmaster Magnus Carlsen in Missouri for defamation. Here is a copy of the 44-page complaint, and here is the first paragraph: “Niemann is a 19-year-old, self-taught chess prodigy. He brings … Continue reading
Happy Louisiana Purchase Day?
Originally posted on prior probability:
On this day (July 4) in 1803, the terms of the treaty between the United States and France for the purchase and sale of Louisiana — the Vente de la Louisiane or “Louisiana Purchase“, a…
Is Twitter worth $44 Billion?
Put another way, now that the Twitter deal is apparently back on (see here, for example), is Elon Musk about to make the biggest and costliest mistake of his storied business career? According to this Hudson Institute report, Twitter’s total … Continue reading
Westbrook > Davis
Below are the L.A. Lakers’ stats from last night’s NBA season opener against the Golden State Warriors. I readily concede that this is a small sample size (one game), but combined with last year’s statistics, maybe it’s Anthony Davis–and not … Continue reading
The market for conspiracy theories
According to this recent report (hat tip: Drudge), Birds Aren’t Real is a “parody movement” that claims all birds in the US have been replaced by lookalike drones, which are used by the government to spy on citizens. Most (some?) … Continue reading
Pop quiz: what city is this?
Originally posted on prior probability:
The answer is here (image credit: TDE-AC).
Monday music: Rakata
One of my favorite reggeaton songs of all time! On another note (sorry!), today (17 October 2022) is Ziggy Marley 54th birthday.
This day in legal history: the execution of Marie Antoinette
On this day (16 October) in 1793, Marie Antoinette was sentenced to death by a French revolutionary tribunal after a one-day sham trial. She was beheaded at 12:15 PM, and her last words were: “Pardonnez-moi, monsieur. Je ne l’ai pas … Continue reading
Brief Review of Wild Problems
I mentioned in my previous post that I finished reading “Wild Problems” by Russ Roberts. What I did not mention is how Stephen Stigler’s new book “Casanova’s Lottery,” which I also recently read, influenced my reading of Wild Problems. In … Continue reading
Symposium on Constitutional Ethnography
I finished reading “Wild Problems” by Russ Roberts yesterday and will post a review in the next day or two. In the meantime, I will be attending a symposium on Constitutional Ethnography at the University of Alabama today: Friday, 14 … Continue reading

